No falafels (in the Hummus Bros eatery, in Wardour St, we went to instead)

In this meal, the meeting of the two families meal, it became clear that meeting relatives and friends for a meal and a conversation has its own social and personal etiquette, and that this does not always sit easily with heated political debates. Although interesting conversations did take place, there were undercurrents that all involved could not really unpick, since this would become too contentious for everyone around the table, especially with the camera recording. It means that a polite conversation between Oreet’s family and Larissa’s family could not really dig deep into the more difficult parts of the topics raised. As in the meal in Abu Ali, with Larissa and Oreet alone, it is what was not said, or what can not be said, or what was not recorded that is more interesting. This dynamic is proving problematic in situations where there are Israelis and Palestinians at the table, be it Oreet and Larissa, or invited guests. To the question of how much Palestinian culture was taught in Israeli Schools, Shoshi (Oreet’s sister) answered, none. Maxim (Larissa’s brother) added that in his school, all the books were monitored and censored by the Israeli government, so in Palestinian schools too, at the time of his childhood (Maxim is 33), Palestinian culture was obliterated from the curriculum. We also talked about possible changes in Israeli society towards a future that does not look too hopeful (Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu). Maxim said that although he is not optimistic, in the long run he could see a two state solution.

At the end of the meal Oreet and Maxim had a bet (three ice cream scoops) as to whether Hummus Brother was owned, or manned by Israelis. No Israelis worked there that night, but it is owed partly by an Israeli who has been living in London for over 10 years. This brings up the question of the boycott.